Japanese Cooking

A while back, my friend Ronna and her daughter Sara-chan came over for a Japanese food lesson by my mother (I am so lucky to have her as my mother, she is the best cook!!)  Ronna had been wanting to learn how to make "korrokke," the Japanese version of croquettes.  It is a typical Japanese home dish which is a very popular among children and men (why do men love anything that's deep-fried?). Just like the French version, it is usually a cylinder shape, with mashed potatoes, meat, and vegetables inside, deep fried with bread crumbs. We eat it with Tonkatsu-sauce, which is a type of sauce made from vegetables, fruit, and spices. It goes so well with rice...I am getting hungry just thinking about it!!!!

We also made "Chirashi-zushi," a type of cake sushi.

Yuuki loves Sara-chan and he goes to hug her all the time....! He's in for a tight competition, though, since Sara-chan has lots of "boy" friends.

Ronna and I met so randomly, in a baby diaper station at Tokyu department store in Shibuya. Since then we've become friends and I love watching Yuuki and Sara-chan play.

I hope we can share each other's culture like this more with other foreign mothers in Japan, too.

Mitsukoshi Department Store, Ginza

Shopping with a one-year-old is challenging. You must time his meal and nap meticulously so that you can shop while he sleeps in his stroller. The Mitsukoshi Department Store in Ginza did an entire makeover last year and is now very baby and mother friendly. They have a great outside garden on their rooftop where kids can run around and play (and get tired). Restaurants in the department store are also baby-friendly. The thing about Japanese department stores is the quality of the restaurants in them. It's not just a regular food court like in the States. They have 10-15 restaurants in all types of cuisines, and in all levels from fine-dining to cafes.

We had lunch at Minoru diner, a Japanese food cafeteria. They had a salad bar with all sorts of Japanese vegetable dishes, which was perfect for Yuuki and I.

After lunch we had gelato on the rooftop garden, and Yuuki ran all over the place he fell asleep on his stroller, giving us about an hour to shop: )!

Hydrangea

June is a time for beautiful hydrangea in Tokyo. They grow wildly all over, and I'd been tempted to cut and take some home with me until my next door neighbor brought some to me, thanking me for letting her play with Yuuki the other day.

I love little surprises like these.

They were truly beautiful.

Kinuta Park

A while back in June, we went to Kinuta Park in Setagaya with my friends from junior high/high school, Aiko, Chiharu, and Sachi. We are all mothers now, which is really hard to believe. It seems just yesterday we laughed at every little thing in our check skirts and navy blazers.

Since the park used to be golf course, it has endless green lawns which is very rare in Tokyo. How good it feels to walk in green grass barefoot: )

It was a gorgeous day for a picnic and the mothers enjoyed beer under the sunny sky.

Thanks for such a beautiful day!!

Bon-Odori

About 2 weekends ago, we went to Yuutenji temple to enjoy Bon-odori (bon dance). Bon-odori is a kind of folk dance held at temples during the time of "obon," where we welcome our deceased ancestors. At the time of "obon, " people usually go back to their homelands, and it is a time for big family gatherings, kind of like Thanksgiving in the U.S. Although the standard dates for "obon" is in August, the date the Bon-odori is held varies at each temple. Yuutenji temple has its Bon-odori festival a bit earlier in July, so we went to go have some fun since Yuuki seemed to be feeling a little better from his cold. (Which turned out to be false, and his fever rose again at night..:( So sorry Yuuki for taking you out...)

The Bon-odori is a big festival where there are lots of food stands and game stands all around the dance circle. Somehow $5 beer cans, greasy yakisoba, and sweet cotton candy taste so good in that atmosphere. People wear Yukata, a summer cotton kimono and enjoy dancing, eating, and playing games. It is a very special time of year, and I am sure Yuuki will love it when he grows up. We are very lucky to have such a big temple that holds a great Bon-odori festival.

We were able to meet up with the Kimoto's our ex-neighbors in Santa Monica, who were back in Tokyo for the summer. Emma-chan, their daughter looked so cute in her Yukata. She had been practicing one of the Bon dances at her Japanese kindergarden, and was able to dance to one of the songs that she practiced! Yay Emma!

Daddy to the rescue

Last weekend, Yuuki caught a cold and had a fever of over 100 degrees. He has only been sick once before, so I was so worried which only added stress to my already deteriorating situation. We were locked up at home for 4 days, eating, taking a bath, and sleeping together, Mizuki, Yuuki, and I. By the forth day everyone was tired of each other, but thank goodness Yuuki's fever has gone down. 

Mizuki has been a super dad, making all meals for us. He's been so supportive and nice to me, but I've been so bitchy to him.....I am so sorry. I took all my stress out on Mizuki, since I don't know where else to discharge it, not being able to get out of the house with Yuuki clinging on to me 24/7. Poor Mizuki. He would say something to try and comfort me like..."you should go take a yoga lesson" only to be backfired by "yoga? how do you think i can go to yoga with Yuuki clinging on to me? who's going to take care of him? you can't comfort him when he's crying these days. i don't have any freedom anymore!"

It's such a vicious circle. I think Yuuki feels my stress and he's also been in a bad mood these days. I really find that the mother's health both mentally and physically is essential for a happy child. I've never had a problem with Yuuki, he's been so happy until recently, I don't know how to deal with a weepy baby which makes me more worried and agitated. 

I am so sorry for bitching so much!!! However, this is helping me get some poison out of my system. It's very therapeutic. 

Fear of the invisible

I've been stressed out lately. Since 3.11, so many things have changed. I've been trying to act normal, trying to go on with life as before because I thought that was the way to support victims and to keep this country moving forward...but it's stressful. Stressful because nothing is just the same anymore. It's even more stressful because everyone is trying so hard to act normal when it's not. 

I turn on the TV and there is much talk about radioactive contamination in food. Last week, government authorities tested for contamination in beef, and most of the beef from Fukushima tested positive. I've already been avoiding seafood, and now meat. However, the tone of the media in Japan is mostly, "Oh, if you don't eat the contaminated meat everyday for the rest of your life it's okay. Just a little is okay. Don't worry too much." or "Oh, we should trust the authorities, they are saying it's okay." or even "Let's buy vegetables and meat from Fukushima, we need to support them!" What?????? Are you crazy?? It makes me sick how blind and stupid and ignorant these people sound. I have a one year old baby to raise in this sad country. I don't want even the slightest amount of radioactive contamination in the food I serve Yuuki. There may be no effect immediately, but I don't want to see any of our children in pain 10, or maybe even 20 years from now. These children are the hope for Japanese future, but the government is doing nothing to protect them. I resent the fact that I must raise children in this country where no crisis management is present. 

I've stopped shopping at my neighborhood super market where they do not conduct any radioactive testing. It surprises me that most supermarkets in Japan don't have radioactive testings yet. Still, I don't see decline in people shopping at regular supermarkets. I buy all my food at Oisix now, an online supermarket where they have strict radioactive testing systems and disclose them. 

I've stopped drinking/feeding tapped water.       

I've stopped going to parks now since I am afraid of contamination in the playgrounds. 

At an individual level, these little things are all I can do to protect my family, to protect Yuuki from the invisible fear. It is so much easier to pretend everything is okay, to live just like before. I know though, that there will be a big difference in the long run for those who take preventative measures and for those who don't.

I never knew that not having a security in such fundamental products like food will bring so much stress.

Although it's stressful, as a mother, I must continue. I only hope all mothers do the same.